A week later.
On the surface, Lu Cheneng's life remained unchanged. He still attended meetings on time, handled documents calmly, and managed the vast Tianshu Consortium with extraordinary efficiency. His words and actions were still those of a finely tuned "chaebol machine."
But only he himself knew that the inside of that "machine" was undergoing a drastic change.
The malfunction of the emotion suppression chip hadn't worsened as rapidly as he'd initially anticipated, nor had the consortium's medical department detected any abnormalities. Like a ticking time bomb, it lay dormant, only occasionally releasing faint "emotional signals" that, like water dripping through stone, gradually eroded his impenetrable barrier of rationality.
Those unfamiliar emotions, starting with "irritation" and "curiosity," gradually evolved into more subtle sensations he couldn't name or understand. Seeing the simulated dusk in the dome would make him lose his mind for a moment; hearing a random, melodious melody would cause his heart to beat faster for no apparent reason; even when signing a lucrative contract, he would feel a hint of... "boredom"?
These changes were extremely subtle, but they were enough to make Lu Cheneng feel alert and... confused.
He was like a newborn baby, learning to perceive the world again, clumsy and confused.
The instigator of all this - "Fei" - has disappeared without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.
The Tianshu Consortium's intelligence network had turned nearly all of Sky Dome City upside down, yet they couldn't find even a single strand of her hair. She was like a ghost wandering in a sea of data, leaving only a few untraceable traces in the digital world.
"waste!"
Lu Cheneng looked at the report on the screen in front of him: "Target Lost, Leads Lost." A surge of inexplicable anger suddenly surged into his heart. He raised his hand suddenly, wanting to smash the screen, but at the last moment, his arm abruptly stopped in mid-air.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
This uncontrolled rage was a completely new experience for him. The chip screamed, trying to suppress this "harmful" emotion, but the "emotional resonance field" formed by the crimson code was like a tough membrane, isolating the chip's suppression instructions.
"Keep investigating," he said coldly into the communicator. "In the ruins area of the lower city, focus on checking all unregistered hacker bases and data transfer stations. I don't believe she could just disappear."
After cutting off the communication, Lu Cheneng rubbed his eyebrows.
He discovered that his obsession with Fei had gone beyond simply "capturing a threat." His desire to find her wasn't just to repair the chip, but more like an instinctive pursuit after his heartstrings were plucked.
He even began to replay the video of the intrusion into the "Oracle" system over and over again in the dead of night.
In his eyes, the crimson code was no longer a cold text, but a dancing flame, full of vitality and passion. He tried to decipher the soul hidden behind the screen from the logic of the code.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but she didn't dare to slack off in the slightest.
Finally, they shook off the last pursuers and hid in an abandoned underground pipe entrance.
The pipe was pitch black and filled with a damp and moldy smell.
Both of them were panting heavily.
Wen Shifei shook off Lu Chenshang's hand with force, took two steps back cautiously, and kept a distance from him.
"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" she asked breathlessly, her voice filled with a hint of vigilance.
Lu Cheneng took off his hood and smart glasses, revealing a handsome face that was enough to attract the attention of the entire Tianqiong City.
"Wen Shifei, codenamed 'Fei', is the top hacker in Sky City. He hacked into the 'Oracle' system a week ago and implanted unknown codes into my personal system. Am I right?" His voice returned to its usual calmness, but his eyes flickered with a complex light.
Wen Shifei's heart sank.
He really knew it.
"What do you want?" She simply stopped trying to hide her feelings and looked at him coldly, "Catch me and claim the reward? Or hand me over to the four great chaebols?"
Lu Cheneng walked towards her step by step, his tall figure casting an extremely oppressive shadow in the dim light.
"I'm not interested in that." He stopped in front of her, so close that they could almost feel each other's breath. "I just want to know, what did you do to me?"
His eyes were as sharp as a knife, as if he wanted to see through her completely.
Wen Shifei looked him in the eye without fear, a provocative smile curling up at the corner of her mouth: "I just... gave you a small gift. A gift that will make your cold 'mechanical heart' learn to beat again."
"Gift?" Lu Chensheng frowned. "The thing you call a 'gift' is destroying everything I have."
"Destroyed? Or reborn?" Wen Shifei asked back, "Lu Cheneng, aren't you curious about what the real you is like without the suppression of that chip?"
Her words were like a key, opening a long-closed door in Lu Chensheng's heart.
Yeah, isn’t he curious?
Is the "Lu Cheneng" who is bound by chips, chaebols, and fate really himself?
He stretched out his hand and wanted to touch her cheek, but Wen Shifei dodged it nimbly.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped, her eyes flashing with disgust and...pain?
Lu Chenshang's hand froze in mid-air.
He read a deep hatred in her eyes.
Why?
"Do you hate me?" he asked, his voice a little dry.
"I hate all the chaebols, especially your Lu family." Wen Shifei's voice was icy cold. "You arrogant gene optimizers have taken away everything from us and used that damn chip to turn yourselves into emotionless monsters!"
"We..." Lu Chensheng wanted to refute, but found that he had nothing to say.
Her accusations were like sharp knives, stabbing into his heart which had just begun to feel the pain.
At this moment, there was a faint sound of footsteps outside the pipe, as well as the "beeping" sound of electronic equipment scanning.
"They are chasing us and bringing a life detector." Wen Shifei's face changed.
Lu Cheneng also immediately became alert.
He knew that if they were caught here, the consequences would be disastrous. Not only Wen Shifei, but even he himself could not explain why he was here, and with a "terrorist".
"Come with me, I know a safe place." Wen Shifei suddenly spoke, took his hand, and ran deep into the pipe.
This time, Lu Cheneng did not resist.
He let her pull him along, following the dancing "scarlet flame" in the completely unfamiliar darkness.
He knew that he had crossed a certain "boundary".
A border of loss of control that, once crossed, there is no turning back.
And what awaits him on the other side of the border, destruction or... salvation?
He doesn't know.
But for the first time, he felt a strong desire for the unknown.
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