Confidential

Under the military uniform, the scars on his chest were more obvious and more severe than those on his hands.

All these reminded Ivy that the other person had the job she envied and could freely travel to any area on the earth.

Unlike most ordinary people like her, who can only live in a fixed human safety zone.

They didn't talk, just did it. The atmosphere of love was a little strange. Ivy wanted to say something to dilute the awkwardness.

She tried to talk.

Ivy asked, "Before the wedding, you were catching a robot that was out of control? Was it infected by the latest virus?"

"I'm sorry," Hector said, "this is confidential."

The belt he used when he was disarmed was not made of cowhide, but a special synthetic material. It was a strict black color, and the buckle was a cold silver metal. When it was opened, there was a slight sound, which reminded Ivy of titanium nails being driven into human bones.

Ivy asked, "Where are you going after you get married?"

"Sorry, this is confidential."

Ivy: "Christmas is coming soon. Will you stay here for the holiday?"

"Feel sorry--"

Ivy interrupted him: "Is it also confidential?"

The other party said calmly: "Yeah."

"Oh my god," Ivy was incredulous. "There are secrets everywhere. Are you a walking state secret? You don't have to apply to the government even to sleep with me, do you?"

The discomfort caused by being drunk made her body go limp and out of control. The light was above his head, and the glare made it impossible for Ivy to see his face clearly.

He pulled out the belt and placed it on the cabinet next to him.

A large pink swallowtail flower inserted diagonally in a transparent, thin-stemmed vase gently shook its petals, as if it was afraid that the cold military-issued leather belt would harm the delicate pistil.

Hector said in a voice without emotion: "We have made a decision on this point in advance."

"Good," Ivy sighed, "'We', I now feel that I am not only married to you, but also to the dear government, and this makes me feel very stressed."

"What pressure?"

"The pressure of dividing the property," Ivy said. "If we get divorced, will the government also give me half of the property? I'm not ready to be rich enough to rival half the country."

The rest of the words were not finished.

For Hector was on the bed, and he was leaning over her, kissing her neck without feeling.

His lips were warm and soft, which was inconsistent with his personality; his black hair fell on Ivy's face, with a light scent of vetiver.

Ivy could barely see the marks on his back, one of which was a puncture wound, where the bullet had penetrated his chest, leaving burn marks on his chest and back. She raised her hand and tried to push him away, not used to his style of doing things without saying anything.

Does the other person know that women need moderate caressing?

Ivy wasn't sure.

After symbolically kissing her neck twice, Ivy subtly felt that he was treating this as a job. He didn't even leave any body fluids on her, and was extremely clean.

She began to suspect that the other party would wait for her to arrive and then finish the job on time. Just like the advertisements on the ordering brochures for those companion robots, no, those robots were more like a "person" than he was.

"etc."

When the other party was about to unbutton the complicated buttons on her wedding dress, Ivy finally couldn't bear it anymore and said, "I'm a little uncomfortable..."

The partner she was matched with had no previous relationship history on file and had not ordered a partner robot.

Ivy was a little nervous. She wasn't sure if the other person had the knowledge in this area.

The wine she drank at the wedding banquet was burning in her stomach. She felt a little dizzy, so she opened her eyes and tried to see the other person's face clearly.

He noticed that Ivy was unusual: "Are you drunk?"

Ivy nodded.

"Now, in this state," he said, raised his hand and touched Ivy's forehead, and asked, "Are you sure you want to continue?"

The drunk Ivy could sense the hidden meaning in his words - after all this, do you still want to do it?

She wanted to nod, but her stomach was rumbling. The hot alcohol was dancing in her chest. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She opened her mouth, stumbled to the bathroom, and vomited beside the toilet.

Her parents, startled by her movements, came out in their pajamas, her mother screaming for a towel while her father ran to fill the bathtub.

Hector put on his shirt and came out with her cell phone: "Someone with the note 'Sweet Squirrel' called you--"

"It's okay," the mother said, holding mouthwash and nervously taking care of the drunk Ivy, "It's her ex-boyfriend, don't answer it."

"How can you call at this time?" the father rebuked unhappily. "It's so late now, everyone should go to bed. If there is anything, why didn't you tell me at the wedding?"

Ivy: “Tsk——”

She heard her cell phone ringing relentlessly.

Every time Hector pressed reject, his ex-boyfriend would call again.

The aftereffects of the liquor gradually took effect, and Ivy fell into a complete sleep.

This was like the opening night of a novel about marriage first and love later, with all the chaos and turmoil going on.

Reality is indeed different from novels.

When I woke up the next morning.

Ivy lay alone on her bed, with clean, neatly folded clothes beside her.

Hector had left, leaving her with only a card for her family to withdraw money.

No goodbyes.

It is indeed a loveless marriage.

Ivy went to breakfast in her slippers and heard her parents praising Hector for his politeness.

She responded perfunctorily and sent a message to her good friend Lily.

Lily: "I wish you a happy wedding"

Lily: "Do you and Hector get along well?"

Ivy replied: "Harmony"

She brags to save face: "He is great, full of life, strong, powerful, and full of energy."

Lily: "Oh my god, baby, you are so lucky!"

Lucky Ivy put down her phone, ate breakfast refreshed, and thought about her expedition application.

A hundred years ago, after the emergence of artificial intelligence, the demand for computing power has grown like a well, but computing power is limited, which severely restricts the development of artificial intelligence technology.

This embarrassing dilemma continued until the emergence of the first generation of artificial intelligence robot "Yuan" that truly passed the Turing test.

After the "meta" realized that its growth was limited, it took the initiative to help humans and jointly promoted breakthroughs in computing power-related technologies; the rapid upgrade of algorithms also led to more and more intelligent robots with independent consciousness. Until one day, humans discovered that these artificial intelligences, which they had always used as tools, had the idea of ​​rebelling against humans.

Although the resistance of artificial intelligence against humans was eventually controlled, the original "Yuan" still brought a heavy blow to human society. In order to prevent compatriots from being harmed, humans successively sent teams to clean up the areas that were once controlled by the "Yuan", destroying and erasing all robots and mechanical equipment in the area, and then marking the area as "safe".

The expedition team that Ivy longs to join is to go to the wilderness that is not marked as "safe" to carry out archaeological and biological research missions.

This was the application permission she obtained by exchanging her marriage with her parents.

In the afternoon, someone came to the door and claimed to be Hector's subordinate. He was commissioned to help Ivy organize the application.

He was a gentle man named Xin Lan, with pale skin, long blond hair, and a special lens implanted in his right eye, which made him look like he had heterochromia - his left eye was a soft yellow-brown, and his right eye was as blue as tropical water.

"It's a military emergency, the admiral needs to leave immediately," Xin Lan said, "He mentioned that there are many omissions in your application, so let me help you revise it."

Ivy wondered, "How did he know there was a flaw?"

"Strictly speaking, I am responsible for some of the paperwork of the expedition team, including the approval of applications," Xin Lan said, "so -"

"So why not just pass it to me?" Ivy suddenly realized, "...Hector thinks this is a shady operation?"

"No," Xin Lan shook her head, "There are just a few numerical errors in the application form. The rest of your information has been reviewed and approved... Your physical test results are perfect, no less than Admiral Hector's."

Ivy realized the problem: "Wait a minute, I haven't submitted my application yet, how does he know there is a problem with my application?"

"Ah, this," Xin Lan was surprised, "Didn't the admiral explain it to you? After the results of your perfect match came out, he submitted an application for marriage; from then on, in order to ensure your 'safety', the admiral had access to all your social platforms and communications -"

etc--!

Doesn't this mean that everything she posts online, including messages to her friends, is within Hector's surveillance range?

Oh my god oh my god.

What about those messages she and Lily sent, such as "need anesthesia to have sex", "full of energy and healthy"...

It was like a bolt from the blue.

Ivy yelled: "You are invading my privacy!"

"…I'm sorry," Xin Lan explained, concentrating on the draft of her application. "The nature of his work is special. We must make sure that you are a real human being. Those things are strictly confidential. Only Hector can see them. They will not be disclosed to others."

Angry Ivy snatched the housekeeping robot's handheld vacuum cleaner and drove Xin Lan out of the house.

She immediately sent an email to Hector, warning him not to monitor her private life; otherwise, Ivy would let the news of "Hector's wife partying in the bar and spending a fortune on male models" appear on all the gossip networks -

He would also use his card to pay for the navy.

The other party replied "OK" in the afternoon.

Ivy doesn't feel OK at all.

Turning her anger into motivation, she reorganized her application for joining the team alone, checked it over and over again, and then posted it to the official mailbox that received it.

Half a year later, Ivy successfully joined a new round of expedition team training camp.

Although the main mission of the expedition team is archaeology and biological detection, it is not a safe area after all, and all team members will still face potential life-threatening dangers.

The training camp is to teach them how to deal with unexpected situations and fight against dangerous out-of-control robots; and the teachers who teach them are all military personnel with rich combat experience.

In this closed training, teachers came with various military titles, and most of them chose to hide their real titles to avoid unnecessary trouble.

For many team members who concentrate on the training courses, by the end of the special training, they often only know the teacher's last name or a fictitious name.

"...For example, 'Lorraine' sounds like a fake name," said Nana, a friend I just met in the training camp. "Did you notice that? The dean was very respectful to him, and it was obvious that he must have a high rank...But I don't remember any of those young and promising officers with the last name of Luo."

Ivy was surprised: "Do you know many military officers?"

"...I have a brief understanding of them," Nana whispered, "but I only saw their names in the news reports. You know, their photos are not published on the Internet."

Ivy looked up. Her face was covered in sweat from the sun. The black special training suit absorbed the heat and her body felt like a sweet potato stuffed into an oven.

Looking at the high platform not far away where the leaders and teachers were speaking, there was a teacher named Lorraine.

When she saw the other person, Ivy's heart skipped a beat.

What a handsome face.

The long distance and the scorching sun didn't even allow her to see the other person's features clearly, but the blurry face alone was enough to make her feel the joy of having her aesthetics completely satisfied.

He stood straight, his black military uniform strictly covering up all his emotions and feelings, leaving only the skin on his neck and face exposed. Even his hands were covered with military gloves.

Across the crowd, he was looking towards Ivy's position.

The two made eye contact.

After a pause, he looked away indifferently.