The following day, rumors spread that Colonel Klindall, who was once adored by countless admirers, had been kicked out of the lounge in the middle of the night.
After getting up, Blaita went to the machine room to visit Qiao Song, and received a smile from him that she thought was ambiguous, but was actually somewhat mechanical and stiff.
"Mr. Josh Song," Bryta asked worriedly. "You seem to be in worse shape after just one night."
Qiao Song modified his body to be barely functional, though his abdomen was empty, which he had to cover up with clothes to avoid looking too scary. He waved his hand dismissively and said, "It took a lot of effort to digitize West's brain this morning, but thankfully, it'll be fine after another charge."
As he spoke, Xiang You and Lin Dao walked in together, discussing something. Seeing that Blaita was also there, Xiang You gave him a meaningful smile and greeted him, "Tata, did you sleep well last night?"
Bretta was the first to notice Mr. Lin Dao's indifferent expression. She instinctively shrank back and nodded obediently, "...Not bad."
Xiang You raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, glancing meaningfully at her old friend's darkened face, and said with a smile, "Oh, so you slept quite well. That's good."
Worried that they might still have something to discuss with Qiao Song, Bletta prepared to leave, saying, "Then I'll go check on Sister Xiang and Chu Hui..."
Upon hearing this, Xiang You's expression revealed a complex mix of emotions, and he hesitated several times before speaking.
Bretta sensed that he had something to say and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Xiang You glanced at Lin Dao, who nodded, before sighing and saying, "That kid Chu Hui is still not giving up and wants to save his sister. Their contribution points are not enough for all the subsequent resource expenditures... That kid said he would definitely find a way and then ran away."
Bretta was taken aback and quickly asked, "How much do you need? I can give you all my contribution points..."
"At least 50,000, plus the medical resources needed to get to the Mechanical City and other subsequent expenses, are all unknowns," Xiang You said.
Bretta paused, lowered her head sadly, and said softly, "So saving someone is this expensive."
Lin Dao looked at the boy's lowered eyes and remained silent.
At the Asian Union military hospital, Blaita sat beside Chu Xiang's bed, watching the beautiful woman lie peacefully. There were less than two hours left before the life support for her brain was completely cut off.
Bleta didn't know where Chu Hui had gone. If he didn't return soon, Xiang Jie would be taken to the crematorium for cremation. He couldn't help but anxiously check the time repeatedly.
"Chu Hui?! What happened to you? Where did you go?" Xiang You's surprised voice rang out from outside the door. Hearing this, Bletta looked up and saw Chu Hui, who was covered in snow stains and mud. He was clenching his fists tightly, and when he saw Bletta, his eyes suddenly flashed with an inexplicable and intense emotion.
Startled by his gaze, Bleta stood up awkwardly and murmured, "...Chu Hui, what's wrong?"
Chu Hui didn't reply to him, but instead looked away with a gloomy gaze and stared intently at Xiang You in front of him, saying, "I have money now, and I will provide all the money that follows, so please... save her."
Xiang You was stunned and hadn't realized what was going on when Chu Hui sent 100,000 contribution points to his account face-to-face.
"...This?!" Xiang Yusi's eyes widened in surprise as she asked, "Where did you get so many contribution points?"
Chu Hui said in a cold voice, "I didn't steal or rob, so this shouldn't be your business." He then glanced past Bryta at Chu Xiang on the hospital bed and said, "No matter what method you use, I want you to save my sister."
Xiang You hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay."
He turned and quickly left the ward to report the matter to Lin Dao.
Bryta was a little worried and followed behind.
At this moment, Lin Dao was in the machine room communicating with Qiao Song about West's brain information processing event.
Qiao Song was sitting in the charging station, with a virtual display screen projected in front of him, rapidly processing information, but soon a red exclamation mark warning appeared.
After a long pause, Qiao Song said with some regret, his voice becoming intermittent: "...Captain Lin, my damage level is too high. There are tens of thousands of pieces of information in West's brain. In my current state, I can't even decipher one ten-millionth of it. I must... undergo a complete repair."
Xiang You, who had just reached the door, was completely unaware that Blaita was following behind him and casually closed the door.
With a "snap," Blaita was shut out.
Xiang You's voice came from inside the room: "...So we have to go to Mechanical Sky City?"
Bretta hesitated for a moment, looked around to make sure no one was watching, then walked to the corner of the room. She leaped up, transforming into a white mouse, and climbed up the eaves. As her clothes fell, the white mouse pulled them back with vines, carrying them with it and leaving her suspended in the air, guarding the outside of the wall. Bretta reached the window and silently slipped inside, hiding among the various instruments scattered around the room. She looked up at the people talking inside.
On the charging dock, Qiao Song answered Xiang You's question: "That's right, right now... only my master Rudolf can completely repair me. Otherwise, given my current state of wear and tear... it will only get worse until... I'm completely scrapped." He gave an ugly, bitter smile. He had long been aware of the fact that he was a robot, but using such a cold word as "scrapped" to describe his second death still seemed to make him feel a little uncomfortable.
Bryta, hiding in the corner, stared at the exhausted Joe Song with his small black eyes, seemingly feeling his sadness as well.
Lin Dao's gaze darkened. Previously, after several rounds of power struggles within the base, the Sub-Alliance had gained the right to participate in the investigation of the underground boxing arena and the 20th-floor wine cellar, while the dominant power had fallen into the hands of the Federation. Now, both were completely blocked, and they could obtain very little information about the alien element.
Since someone wants to silence West, the central figure involved in both incidents, his importance is self-evident.
Xiang You thought of Chu Hui and said, "By the way, that kid Chu Hui is back. He transferred a huge sum of 100,000 yuan to me. He wants to turn Chu Xiang into a robot like Qiao Song. As long as she's alive."
Qiao Song was taken aback. Although he had mentioned it in a moment of panic, he hadn't expected it to actually happen.
Lin Dao frowned and said, "Where did he get so many donation points?"
Xiang You thought of Chu Hui's disheveled state and said, "He won't say. So, should we save him or not?"
Lin Dao thought about the pursuit of West, realizing that their actions had been careless and had implicated Chu Xiang and her siblings, as well as her Bana Ballroom. He nodded and said, "Save me, when you report to your superiors, don't mention this matter."
Xiang You shrugged: "Of course."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a video call came in from the headquarters of the Asian Union.
Xiang You glanced at Lin Dao, but Lin Dao remained expressionless, pulled up his hood, and took a few steps back, stopping in a dark corner. He nearly stepped on the tail of Britta, who had turned into a lab rat. Britta was so frightened that she dodged and hid behind his military boots.
Seeing Lin Dao's action, Xiang You understood. A hint of sadness flashed behind her glasses, but she quickly straightened up and went into a room to connect to the video call.
The moment the image appeared in the conference room of the Asia Alliance headquarters, Xiang You solemnly saluted the highest-ranking administrative officer, and then began to give a concise and clear report on everything that had happened at the Mix base without changing his expression.
Due to the negative impact of the series of events in the underground city, he was severely criticized by his father and several other high-ranking officials. Then, through the persuasive tactics of You Chunfeng, he successfully obtained approval to go to the Mechanical Sky City to repair the Qiao Song robot and try to decrypt the information of West's brain as soon as possible.
After the call ended, he came out of the room and gave Lin Dao a brief overview of the results.
"...At the same time, headquarters also told me something very important," Xiang You said, looking at Lin Dao who had been deep in thought, "that is...currently, based on global detection and deduction, there have been alien beings who can preserve human consciousness."
Lin Dao suddenly looked up and asked, "What did you say?"
Hearing this, Bretta, who was hiding behind Lin Dao's military boots, also slightly twitched her big black eyes.
Xiang You noticed that his reaction was a bit strong, and secretly observed his emotions, saying, "In some illegal laboratories in certain areas, there are already semi-finished products that can simultaneously possess the power of alien species and maintain human consciousness."
"A semi-finished product?" Lin Dao asked.
【A semi-finished product?】 Hearing this word, Bryta was also a bit confused. Was it also a finished product of this kind of experiment? But it was originally a lab rat, without any human consciousness. Bryta quietly raised her eyes and continued to listen, only half understanding.
"That's right, it's still my conclusion. Even if they have strong willpower and physical adaptability, and seem to have perfectly integrated in the early stages, they become more and more likely to lose control as they gradually use the alien's abilities. If they're not careful, they can be completely devoured by the alien's consciousness and become monsters."
"So it's a 'semi-finished product'," Xiang You said. "And the Federation is already preparing to use ammunition to clean up the twenty-story wine cellar. As for those who drank the alien-infused beverage, due to the large number of people and the fact that there are currently no signs of mutation, the Federation plans to keep it a secret from the people of the base."
Lin Dao remained silent for a moment, knowing that this was the best solution at the moment.
Xiang You seemed to guess what he was thinking and said, "The Asia Alliance's intention is for me to carry the alien elements circulating in the Mix Base through Mechanical Sky City and return to the Asia Alliance to report back. The Asia Alliance's garrison will also be withdrawn gradually afterward."
Qiao Song, who had been listening quietly while charging, asked incredulously, "What do you mean? Are we going to completely abandon the entire Mix base?"
This was indeed the truth. Xiang You's face was grim as he nodded: "The Empire offered to take on the important task of the Mix Base, and the Federation readily agreed. The idea of clearing the ammunition was also from the Empire."
“Donov?” Lin Dao recalled the man and uttered his name in a deep voice.
Xiang You was taken aback and said, "Yes, he happened to be here representing the Empire to handle some matters. How did you think it was him?"
“I saw him yesterday at the Bana Ballroom,” Lin Dao said.
Xiang You immediately became alert: "How could an imperial nobleman like him end up in a slum?"
Lin Dao thought of his acquaintance with Bryta, his expression darkening, but ultimately he didn't say anything.
Bretta was also taken aback when she heard the name. Mr. Donovan was an imperial nobleman.
As the son of an Imperial Marshal, Donovan enjoyed a very high reputation in both the military and political spheres, almost on par with the former Klindall. The two had disagreements on politics and had been enemies for many years. Ironically, their reputations in their respective countries were also comparable. However, compared to Klindall's stern and iron-fisted style, Donovan's gentlemanly demeanor won him more favor.
Not wanting to spoil the mood, Xiang You didn't bring him up again and changed the subject, saying, "The Sub-Alliance's intention is for me to carry the alien essence circulating in the Mix Base through Mechanical Sky City and eventually return to the Sub-Alliance to report back." As he spoke, he probed him meaningfully, "Do you want to come back with me?"
Lin Dao coldly refused: "No need, the past me is dead."
Even though she knew You Zhengzhu's attitude was resolute, she was still somewhat angry: "What do you mean you're already dead? Aren't you standing right in front of me, perfectly fine?"
He couldn't help but step forward and question him, "Tell me, what exactly is the reason you don't want to go back?!" Looking at Lin Dao's indifferent eyes, he snapped, "Is something really wrong with you? I knew something had changed since you came back from the alien tide! Tell me, and I'll investigate every single thing for you!"
Bleta was frightened by Xiang You's appearance and hurriedly backed away.
What does it mean to say "the past me is dead"?
Lin Dao calmly reached out and pushed him away. After a long silence, he stared into his eyes and said, "Xiang You, I will tell you one day."
Xiang You seemed to have finally been provoked. She stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and roared with bloodshot eyes:
"Colonel Klingdale! What are you so afraid of?!"
Upon hearing this, Bretta froze—Mr. Lin Dao…is Colonel Klindall?!
...Then how did he turn into a giant black snake?!
Author's Note: Thank you for your support! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-02-02 16:39:17 and 2022-02-03 13:57:19!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Spicy-loving Rabbit Bear (10 bottles); Golden Green Wind (2 bottles); Alice (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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